Extensible levelling apparatus to be used in connection with finishers for the spreading of bituminous conglomerates



March 21, DOMENIGHETTI EXTENSIBLE LEVELLING APPARATUS TO BE USED INCONNECTION WITH FINISHERS FOR THE SPREADING OF BITUMINOUS CONGLOMERATESFiled May 25, 1964 INVENTOR ,ID /751/16 0 D%/;4'0 g 4 7 7/ United StatesPatent 3,309,971 EXTENSIBLE LEVELLING APPARATUS TO BE USED IN CONNECTIONWITH FINISHERS FOR THE SPREADING 0F BITUMINOUS CONGLOMERATES DomenicoDomeniglretti, Via Nosetto 6, Bellinzona, Switzerland Filed May 25,1964, Ser. No. 369,809 Claims priority, application Switzerland, Aug. 5,1963, 9,789/63 Claims. (Cl. 9445) This invention relates toroad-building machinery, and particularly to a leveling apparatus forbituminous road pavings.

Leveling machines of the type with which this invention is concerned arevehicles equipped with screeds which are moved over the surface of thesoft paving material to level the same. If the screed is fixedlyattached to the vehicle, the bouncing movement of the latter, as ittravels over yet irregular surfaces, causes corresponding oscillationsof the screed, and waves in the pavement surface.

An object of the invention is the provision of a road leveling apparatusin which the vertical positions of the screed is not significantlyaffected by vertical movements of the vehicle to which the screed isattached.

The width of the vehicle is normally limited by law to a width smallerthan the width of a lane in the road paved. It is desirable to level thepaving in one operation over the full width of the lane. This requires ascreed extending laterally beyond the width of the vehicle permissibleduring travel of the latter to a place of operation. Extensible screedshave been known heretofore, but are complex and difficult to handle.

Another object of this invention is the provision of a laterallyextensible screed which is simple in its construction, and which causesthe extended portions to be locked in the operative and inoperativepositions in a simple manner.

An example of a road leveling apparatus of the invention is shown in theaccompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 shows the machine in side elevation;

FIG. 2 shows it in front elevation; and

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the machine.

The main body of a vehicle is supported on four pneumatic wheels 3 whichare driven by a non-illustrated motor. A forward extension of the body10 is supported on wheels 2 which may be steered. Bumpers 1 on the frontend of the vehicle permit a truck carrying bituminous material to bepushed ahead of the leveling machine.

The forward extension of the body 10 carries a hopper 7 downwardly opentoward a conveyor 9 which travels rearward from the hopper through atunnel (not shown) in the body 10 toward screw feeders 4. The feedersrotate about an axis perpendicular to the normal direction of vehiclemovement and distribute the bituminous material discharged from thehopper 7 over the width of the lane to be paved. The screw feeders maybe extended in a known manner between a retracted position and anoperative position illustrated in broken lines in FIG. 3, in which theylaterally project beyond the vehicle body 10.

A box-shaped screed 5 is mounted on the vehicle body 10 behind thefeeders 4 on the rear ends of two arms 12 whose front ends are attachedto the foreward portion of the main body 10 by respective pivots 11. Thescreed 5 has a flat bottom face 13 which is elongated transversely ofthe direction of vehicle movement, and a front face which extendsupwardly from the bottom face 13. The

Patented Mar. 21, 1967 top of the screed 5 slopes obliquely in adownward and backward direction.

Hinges 14 at the two lateral ends of the screed top respectively carrybox-shaped screed extensions 8 which may be swung on the hinges 14between the inoperative position shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 and theoperative position illustrated in FIG. 2.

When in the operative position,'the screed extensions 8 are suspendedfrom the pins of the hinges 14, and their vertical side faces seen inFIG. 1 abuttingly engage the corresponding vertical side faces of thescreed 5. Respective bottom and front faces of the extensions 8 arealigned flush and contiguously with the corresponding faces of thescreed 5.

In the inoperative position, the screed extensions rest by gravity onthe inclined top face of the screed 5, and their vertical side facesextend in common longitudinal planes with respective side faces of thescreed 5 and pivot axes of the hinges 14. The screed extensions 8 arewithdrawn within the overall width of the vehicle in the inoperativeposition shown in FIG. 3 in fully drawn lines. The inoperative positionis rearwardly offset from the operative position shown in broken lines.

Obviously, only one screed extension 8 may be in the operative positionso that three operating widths are available in the leveling machine ofthe invention by swinging the extensions 8 about the pivot axes of thehinges 14.

What is claimed is:

1. A leveling apparatus for road pavings, comprising in combination, avehicle body having front and rear ends, a box-like screed carried byand disposed at the rear end of said vehicle body, said screed beinghorizontally elongated in a direction transverse of the vehicle body andincluding a pavement engaging bottom, a front wall, a pair of side wallsand .a top wall member, the transverse length of said screedcorresponding substantially to the width of the vehicle body, a pair ofbox-like screed extensions operatively disposed at the respectiveopposite sides of said screed and projecting laterally outwardly beyondsides of the vehicle body, each of said screed extensions including apavement engaging bottom, a front wall and an inner side wall, and hingemeans connecting the inner side wall of each screed extension to theadjacent side wall of the screed at the junction of the screed side wallwith the screed top wall member, whereby said screed extensions may behingedly swung from their operative position beyond sides of the vehiclebody to an inoperative position wherein they are superposed on saidscreed top wall member, said top wall member of the screed and axes ofsaid hinge means being downwardly inclined, whereby the screedextensions in their operative position are forwardly offset from theirinoperative position.

2. The apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said inner side walls ofsaid screed extensions in the operative position of the latter are inabutting engagement with the side walls of said screed.

3. The apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said inner side walls ofsaid screed extensions and the axes of said hinge means are coplanarwith the respective adjacent side walls of said screed when the screedextensions are in their inoperative position.

4. The apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said front walls andbottoms of said screed'extensions are contiguous and transverselycoplanar with the front wall and bottom respectively of said screed whenthe screed extensions are in the operative position.

5. The apparatus as defined in claim 1 together With a pair oftransversely spaced arms extending longitudi nally along opposite sidesof said vehicle body, and pivot means connecting front ends of said armsto the vehicle body for raising and lowering movement of the arms, therear ends of said arms being rigidly connected to said screed wherebythe latter with its associated screed extensions may remain in properoperative engagement With pavement notwithstanding relative rising andlowering movement of the vehicle body.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS Wahlstrom 9444Barber 9446 Millikin 9445 Odell 9444 Sauer 94-35 CHARLES E. OCONNELL,Primary Examiner.

N. C. BYERS, Assistant Examiner.

1. A LEVELING APPARATUS FOR ROAD PAVINGS, COMPRISING IN COMBINATION, AVEHICLE BODY HAVING FRONT AND REAR ENDS, A BOX-LIKE SCREED CARRIED BYAND DISPOSED AT THE REAR END OF SAID VEHICLE BODY, SAID SCREED BEINGHORIZONTALLY ELONGATED IN A DIRECTION TRANSVERSE OF THE VEHICLE BODY ANDINCLUDING A PAVEMENT ENGAGING BOTTOM, A FRONT WALL, A PAIR OF SIDE WALLSAND A TOP WALL MEMBER, THE TRANSVERSE LENGTH OF SAID SCREEDCORRESPONDING SUBSTANTIALLY TO THE WIDTH OF THE VEHICLE BODY, A PAIR OFBOX-LIKE SCREED EXTENSIONS OPERATIVELY DISPOSED AT THE RESPECTIVEOPPOSITE SIDES OF SAID SCREED AND PROJECTING LATERALLY OUTWARDLY BEYONDSIDES OF THE VEHICLE BODY, EACH OF SAID SCREED EXTENSIONS INCLUDING APAVEMENT ENGAGING BOTTOM, A FRONT WALL AND AN INNER SIDE WALL, AND HINGEMEANS CONNECTING THE INNER SIDE WALL OF EACH SCREED EXTENSION TO THEADJACENT SIDE WALL OF THE SCREED AT THE JUNCTION OF THE SCREED SIDE WALLWITH THE SCREED TOP WALL MEMBER, WHEREBY SAID SCREED EXTENSIONS MAY BEHINGEDLY SWUNG FROM THEIR OPERATIVE POSITION BEYOND SIDES OF THE VEHICLEBODY TO AN INOPERATIVE POSITION WHEREIN THEY ARE SUPERPOSED ON SAIDSCREED TOP WALL MEMBER, SAID TOP WALL MEMBER OF THE SCREED AND AXES OFSAID HINGE MEANS BEING DOWNWARDLY INCLINED, WHEREBY THE SCREEDEXTENSIONS IN THEIR OPERATIVE POSITION ARE FORWARDLY OFFSET FROM THEIRINOPERATIVE POSITION.